Frank Sativa Interview
Nehemiah Terry: On songs like hidden image you talk about struggling with mental health through your teens years, what advice would you give to teens that are struggling emotionally and how did you progress though that?
Frank Sativa: I had to give myself time to really figure myself out because hidden image is basically like the title, you know, I don't really know who I am yet. I'm still trying to figure that out. I'm getting there. And while I was getting there I was struggling with figuring out if this is all worth it, trying to give my all into music. Because there's a lot of artists out here that have a lot of talent, and why would I be special enough for people to listen to me, like what makes me so special, you know. That was really the struggle for me, I was struggling a lot with self image and trying to figure out how I want people to see me. But the advice I would give would be to give it time, you know, give yourself time to think.
Nehemiah Terry: What are your creative inspirations outside of music?
Frank Sativa: It’s really just experiences, I feel like you can't make music without experiences. The music doesn't feel… What's the word for it? The music just doesn't feel alive. It just feels pretty dull and dead, you know, and it's just there's no structure. There's no realness to that. How I make my music is like I have to live my life a little bit. Then I go to the studio. I used to be able to just sit there and make music all day, but like I'm still young, I still have a lot of life to live, experiences to be made. So it just takes time for those songs to be made.
Nehemiah Terry: What’s the title of your upcoming album and what does that symbolize within the album?
Frank Sativa: ‘Brown Boy.’ It's a character. Just like how Tyler has Flowerboy and Igor, this is one of my characters that I'm trying to build. So it’s a character from my past.
Nehemiah Terry: In 2022 you released 11 singles and an EP, why is now the perfect time for you to drop an album?
Frank Sativa: I feel ready. I'm ready for sure. The reason I dropped 11 songs is I wasn’t ready for an album. Albums take time. I really wanted to be able to have leverage before I drop the album, because I didn't really have a fan base. The fanbase I have now I feel like it takes time to want to put out an album. It's hard because you want the album to do so well. So you’re like is it time? Am I ready? And there's a lot around it because there's going to be a vinyl, there’s going to be merch. It’s a lot that goes into it, but I’m excited for it, I’m really excited.
Nehemiah Terry: You’re known to be one to blend and experiment with new sounds, how would you describe the sound of this upcoming project and how it is different from your previous work?
Frank Sativa: It’s definitely different. It’s definitely different. When you listen to it it's pretty much all of my inspirations all in one. Pretty much what it is. But it’s all of my inspirations into my own sound. You could just tell like, oh, this sounds really different, like refreshing, like it sounds this, but it also sounds like something else. But it still all sounds really good, it's just a lot of inspiration in there. A lot of inspirations, and I'm excited for people to hear the evolution of my sound in that album. So that's really cool, and everything is going to be live instruments. So when I perform the album there is going to be a live band.
Nehemiah Terry: Can you give us any sneak peak into artists or producers you worked with on this project?
Frank Sativa: Yeah, they're my main guys. Maverick Fabela. He's extremely talented on piano, but he also can just produce anything he wants. He's really good. I recently became friends with a couple of more people that produce on it as well. Griffin Chaney. Dash, Dash is Maverick’s brother, he plays drums on the album. (He’s) really talented. And then Summer, he mixed the whole thing. There’s also going to be a deluxe but the deluxe is with different people. And the deluxe is basically just the vinyl. All the songs from the album are going to be on that.
Nehemiah Terry: Who are some of your favorite up and coming artists besides yourself?
Frank Sativa: There’s a lot. This dude doesn’t get enough credit. His name is Cosmo’s Demos. He’s going to blow up soon, once his name gets out there it's over with. That dude is so good. Also, Khamari, I would say Greek. If you’ve ever heard of Biking With Francis, those are my homies. There’s so many artists that I’ve come across. Jordan Ward’s the homie, he’s going crazy right now. There’s so many artists but those are the main people who I think are going to go crazy soon.
Nehemiah Terry: Can we be expecting a tour, and if so, what are some of your favorite cities to visit?
Frank Sativa: Oh yeah, there will definitely be a tour. Once the album melts into people’s ears and gets out there even more there will be a tour, mainly on the west coast because that's where I’m mainly known. I am a west coast kid. Midwest too. I want to do Texas, there will be some in L.A for sure. A lot (of performances) in California because California is a big state. So San Francisco, Sacramento, Arizona, mainly the west coast but New York too. I’ll be in Chicago for sure, I’m pretty sure it’s one of my top cities next to L.A. Yeah, that’d be dope.
